


Trust Me

by Zarla



Category: Star Control
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Dubious Consent, M/M, Manipulation, Unrequited Love, Xeno, subjective narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-18
Updated: 2008-08-18
Packaged: 2017-10-06 04:32:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zarla/pseuds/Zarla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ZEX has a surprise in mind tonight! Unfortunately it seems that neither DAX nor the Captain seem entirely inclined to partipate. Time to... negotiate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust Me

**Author's Note:**

> ZEX gets pretty pushy/insistent in this to a possibly dub-conish extent so... watch out for that I guess?

When ZEX said he was going to go get "something," the Captain wasn't quite sure what that entailed. ZEX had said something about tonight being unique or special or something (honestly, at that point the Captain hadn't really been listening because ZEX was doing that thing with his tongue), but ZEX had always had a tendency to rhapsodize about whatever they were doing in glowing terms, sometimes even during the act, so the Captain didn't make much of it at the time.

And he was kind of distracted, so there was that too.

So when ZEX left him to go get "something," he didn't know what he could be getting. They pretty much had everything here, and he was already kind of getting into it, and actually it was kind of frustrating that ZEX just suddenly stopped and left and he actually told him that, but ZEX had just laughed and told him he'd enjoy it. Whatever that meant.

He hated being left to think like this, since it brought to mind exactly what he was doing and who he was doing it with way too clearly for his liking. This really wasn't something he liked to dwell on, because that led to way too many uncomfortable thoughts about his preferences that he didn't want to deal with, exactly. Like that it didn't _mean_ anything that he liked spending time with ZEX, or what ZEX did to him, or anything like that, and it definitely didn't mean he was a xenophile 'cause that was _weird_, and this was exactly why he hated being left alone like this. Where _was_ ZEX, anyway?

After what felt like way too long, ZEX finally came back and, annoyingly enough, the Captain didn't see him holding anything. Although one arm was out of view...

A few more seconds and he realized that ZEX wasn't holding anything, he was leading someone in, and more importantly than that, it was another VUX. What kind of sick joke was this?! He scrambled around and found some of his clothing nearby to cover himself, not entirely sure that this new VUX wouldn't immediately kill him for this. Unless they shared ZEX's fondness for his species, in which case...

Wait... was this what ZEX meant? Shouldn't he have been consulted about this? The Captain held his clothes tighter against himself.

"ZEX, what are you-"

"Sir, I don't understand-"

The Captain's objection died in his throat as he recognized that quiet, annoyed tone and realized who this other VUX was. That switched his fears back from "new levels of debauchery" to "imminent death", and he really hoped that God would look favorably on interspecies relationships that were really kind of complicated, to be honest, and not at all about xenophilia, really-

"Surprise!" ZEX sounded all too pleased with himself, and apparently completely unaware of the tension that filled the air when the Captain and DAX caught sight of each other. "I thought this might make tonight extra special for all of us, don't you agree?"

"No!" the Captain managed to say, his voice a bit more shrill than he would have liked.

"Sir!" DAX sounded both shocked and irritated, and he turned to ZEX with all his head... thingies raised up and quivering like snakes. Most of VUX body language was lost on the Captain, but it was clear enough that DAX was just as displeased about this as he was. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Of course not! The very idea." ZEX turned to the Captain and waved an arm at him in some gesture that he didn't understand, but he decided it was supposed to be comforting. Either that or _stay put_. "I think you're both being a bit hasty. I don't suppose you need... convincing?"

Not good. ZEX could be _very_ convincing when he wanted something, in a way that could almost be dangerous, and the Captain tried to shake the sinking feeling that this night was going to go how ZEX wanted it to, one way or another. "It's not- um, it's just... uh, I'm pretty sure DAX doesn't like me and, uh, I'm not really-"

"That's Sub-commander DAX to you, human," DAX snapped, head thingies bristling in a way that reminded him of an Earth cat, and he turned to ZEX sharply. "You can't possibly be suggesting that we-"

"That's precisely what I'm suggesting." ZEX glanced at the Captain and, apparently satisfied that he wasn't going anywhere despite his protests, focused himself more directly towards DAX. "I take it you aren't properly motivated?"

"Properly-" DAX's voice caught for a moment. "With your human, sir, do you honestly think-"

"Does the human make so much of a difference to you?" There, now the Captain had the distinct feeling that he was no longer included in the conversation, and frankly he was kind of relieved. He sat back, tried to keep himself covered, and focused on not dying of embarrassment.

"It's..." DAX glanced over at the Captain, who jumped a bit, before returning to glaring at ZEX. "Sir, this is... I don't like your human, I have no interest in him-"

"And what about me?"

This was new. The way that DAX reacted made the Captain glad that he wasn't being paid all that much attention, since he had a feeling DAX was _not happy_ that this had been brought up. Although he had to admit he suspected something along these lines...

"Sir," DAX hissed, "that's unrelated, I don't want to talk about it here-"

"Well, I do want to talk about it, DAX, if that's what's keeping you from participating. What do you have to lose?"

DAX trembled for a moment, head thingies (tentacles? Tendrils? Feelers? He could never decide on a word) all up and moving, and he turned away from ZEX to leave. Before the Captain could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard ZEX speak again, his voice sharp and commanding.

"DAX!"

The Captain felt himself sitting straight up, and he saw that DAX had likewise stopped in his tracks at the tone in ZEX's voice. While ZEX was able to persuade him to do things he otherwise would never do (really, this was a very special and singular case), ZEX almost always used a cajoling, smooth tone to do so, one that he found surprisingly difficult to resist. Now, ZEX's voice had a hard strength to it, an authority that he'd never heard before. A military command spoken by someone with a great deal more power, and he'd forgotten about that particular aspect of him.

DAX stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"DAX, come here." Again, a tone in his voice that brokered no argument, that made it clear that it was an order that had to be obeyed. DAX hesitated for a moment, then he turned and walked back to ZEX slowly. His head feelers were tangled and darting around, and the Captain wished he paid enough attention to VUX to knew what that meant. As it was he felt strangely uncomfortable... there was this feeling that he was seeing something that he really shouldn't have been seeing. Something private.

DAX stood in front of the other VUX, head tentacles still in frantic motion but the rest of him still, almost as if at attention. He stared at ZEX and the Captain couldn't quite make out how he felt... VUX emotions were expressed in such weird ways. ZEX reached out a single arm and touched DAX's face lightly, causing the feelers nearest to the contact to reach out for ZEX's arm in a flurry of motion.

"Sub-commander DAX."

"Yes, sir." An instinctual, quick response, but with an undercurrent of rebellion beneath it.

ZEX's voice was careful and calm, although there was still a strength to it that the Captain hadn't heard before, not quite like this. "You're being resistant."

"...Yes, sir."

ZEX took a step closer to him, and while DAX looked away, his head tendrils seemed to reach out towards ZEX. ZEX still had an air of quiet confidence to him, like he'd done this several times before. The Captain wasn't really quite sure what to think of that... was it normal to feel kind of jealous if it was with another one of his species? What did that even mean? He was _not_ jealous.

"You've made it clear to me..." ZEX said, and DAX continued to look away from him, "that you require further convincing."

"Sir, don't," DAX said, although his voice had grown soft. "Not..."

"Surely there's no harm to it?" There, ZEX's voice had that silky sound to it that the Captain was very familiar with, particularly when ZEX was trying to persuade him to try some new... position or activity. "Nothing to lose, and only pleasure to gain... so why are you being so difficult?"

DAX was quiet for a moment, then turned as if to walk away again. This time ZEX was ready, and the speed of his next movements took the Captain by surprise. In moments, ZEX had DAX trapped against him, back to front, arms tangled with one another and heads side by side. DAX made a sound while this happened, although the Captain wasn't sure he could classify it as startled.

DAX struggled for a moment, eye shut as he tried to wrest his arms away, but ZEX had wrapped his arms tightly and refused to let go. He could see the tension rippling through their bodies for a few seconds, the dip in DAX's skin where ZEX's grip was tight, and the Captain found himself strangely reminded of a snake that had just caught its prey. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and he wasn't sure if DAX really wanted to get away or not, and if he did, then...

The two were relatively still, except for ZEX adjusting his grip on DAX's arms (again, the image of a snake slowly crushing its prey's spine came to mind and ugh), then he moved slowly, his tongue extending and lightly touching one of DAX's head tentacles, which shied away at the contact. Not easily dissuaded, as the Captain knew all too well, his tongue simply followed until it curled around the shuddering feeler, and the Captain noticed that ZEX's head tentacles were reaching out for DAX's own, which now tried to move away from him. They swiped out, occasionally at thin air, and sometimes they caught some of DAX's and wrapped around them as well. Slowly the two of them got further entangled, and DAX kept his eye closed and didn't move.

Some motion, a tug or pull somewhere, the Captain couldn't quite tell where, and DAX groaned. ZEX made a pleased sound in response, and DAX arched his back, in an effort to get away from him or get closer to him, the Captain couldn't tell. It didn't matter much either way as ZEX stayed close to him through the motion, followed his resistance and matched it evenly the whole way. They moved together, a ripple and DAX groaned again, and the Captain couldn't tell if it was pain or despair or pleasure.

He wasn't sure if he should say something, tell ZEX to stop since he wasn't sure if DAX liked this or not, and it was making him really uncomfortable to watch. What it looked like was that ZEX had DAX pinned, but he wasn't sure if there was some other set of meanings it could have had between two VUX that he didn't understand or what, but if he was holding DAX against his will, then that wasn't acceptable, and he had to say something.

"Sir..." DAX said finally, his voice soft. "Sir... don't..."

"Ah, are you playing hard to get, as usual, Sub-commander?" ZEX's voice a smooth whisper, the kind that the Captain found particularly irresistible, and he wasn't sure how he felt to hear him use it with someone else. "Do you want me to stop?"

It was primarily a rhetorical question just by his tone (he'd heard that tone, and in fact the same question before so he was pretty familiar with it), but the Captain still didn't know how to feel about any of this. Maybe DAX really did want him to stop, but at the same time, saying something and intruding on this entire... whatever it was, now seemed somehow inappropriate. Maybe this was normal, maybe it wasn't, he had no idea. He felt incredibly awkward.

"Sir..." Not a yes or a no, just a breathless word. Again he arched his back, apparently trying to get away and ZEX moved with him, tangled with him in several different ways. DAX's tail was now tightly curled around ZEX's leg, and he was trembling.

"You need to relax, DAX..." ZEX did something, although it was too quick or too subtle for the Captain to entirely see what it was, that caused DAX to shudder. "You're too tense. You'll enjoy it, you'll see. Trust me."

"Sir..."

"Trust me..." Again, his whisper now a bit more insistent, and the Captain found himself shivering a little. "You'll enjoy it... I'll make sure of it."

"Sir... sir, please..." DAX sounded almost desperate, and it was the first time the Captain had ever seen or heard DAX this... vulnerable. He didn't even think DAX could sound like this, given his general stoic attitude, and it was a change that almost made him feel uncomfortable again. He didn't even really know DAX all that well, and hearing that tone in his voice felt... kind of wrong, in a way. DAX leaned back slightly, ZEX moving with him. "Not... not in front of him..."

Seemed like DAX felt the same way about being so exposed in front of the Captain (although, he wasn't _naked_, like some unfortunate people in the room currently), and the Captain felt a twinge of... something like sympathy.

ZEX's voice was still smooth, and his tongue worked itself free and glanced across DAX's face, touched the curve of his trunk. "Then do what I want."

DAX didn't say anything, still trembling, and ZEX waited for a few moments for a reply that didn't come. It wasn't really clear if ZEX even expected DAX to respond, or just knew that he wouldn't.

"Don't tell me you need more convincing?" Again, the tone in his voice made the Captain shiver a bit, and DAX made a soft sound he wasn't quite sure how to classify. Another motion that he couldn't catch amidst all the twining and twisting and DAX gasped sharply, a startled sound. He settled back against ZEX as if he needed the support, his eye tightly shut.

"Nn-!"

"Now, will you cooperate? Or will I have to get more... insistent?" His arms tightening around DAX's with that steady, snakelike pressure, head tentacles still entangled together, and the Captain really didn't know what it said about him that he was starting to get turned on by this, whatever it meant. He really hoped this was what he thought it was, and that DAX was...

"Unh-!" Another short gasp, and DAX shuddered again, his tongue extending. "Sir... a-ah, sir..."

"Yes, Sub-commander?" That silken whisper again.

"I..." A moment of tension through DAX's body, and then it all seemed to leave at once. He slumped back against ZEX. "A-alright, I'll... I'll do it."

"That's better." Satisfied, ZEX slowly loosened his hold and released DAX, who stumbled away from him almost dizzily. It took a few moments for DAX to recover his sense of balance and stand up straight. His pupil was dilated now... the Captain hadn't noticed that before.

All this time being an observer, and suddenly ZEX turned to face him and the Captain felt himself draw back a little. His voice however was just as smooth and sweet as it had always been with him, a marked contrast with the harsh tone he'd used with DAX.

"And you, my human love? Do you require any further... motivation to participate?"

The Captain stared and shook his head silently, finding himself blushing at the thought. ZEX flicked his tongue, pleased.

"Marvelous! And I can see that you're already... intrigued as it is. Hee! Hee! Hee!" It was comforting to hear ZEX's light tone now, although his comment did cause the Captain to flush deeper and try to cover himself anew. "I think we've spent enough time on the preliminaries. DAX, if you please?"

DAX was standing to one side, still apparently a little unsteady on his feet, and he was staring at ZEX in a way that the Captain couldn't easily identify... the VUX's lack of facial features was so inconvenient sometimes. His head tentacles were all twisting tightly together, and he didn't move, just wavered back and forth slightly.

"DAX?" ZEX glanced over to him, and DAX blinked.

"Y...yes, sir."

And DAX went to turn off the lights.


End file.
